With a New York Giants loss to the Washington Redskins earlier in the day, the Eagles knew that their hopes of winning the NFC East were still alive, so long as they could keep winning their own games games. The Eagles wasted no time in doing that, scoring four touchdowns in the first 20 minutes of Sunday's game against the New York Jets en route to a 45-19 victory.
The Eagles' franchise signal-caller, Michael Vick, finished the day with 306 total yards and two touchdowns - one though the air and one on the ground.
Jets head coach Rex Ryan was so impressed that he said he'd never seen the 10-year veteran play so well in any of the film he's watched in all the times he's faced him in the past.
"I've gone against Vick a few times, but he's never had that kind of day; not even close against our kind of defense," Ryan said. "He beat us on the ground. He threw the ball well, and he made good decisions. He's a complete quarterback, now, and he really showed me something today."
Vick responded by saying that it was "an awesome compliment coming from a coach who (he has) a lot of respect for. "
When asked about the state of the team's playoff hopes, Vick spoke in a remarkably unaffected manner. He is focusing only on whoever is the next opponent that stands in his way.
"We were aware of what happened in the Giants-Redskins game," said Vick. "But, we're not worried about any of that stuff. We just need to go out and handle our business. That's what we can control. The bottom line is we need to win the rest of our games. Paying attention to the rest of the league doesn't help us, so I don't get caught up in that."
That being said, Vick was certainly pleased when he found out that Washington was going to hold on and defeat the Giants 23-10.
"It feels great to know that we still have a chance to make the playoffs," Vick said. "For the most part, we've played good football all season, but for whatever reason - turnovers, red zone offense, etc. - we haven't won as many as we had hoped we would. We've been through a lot, but this team has lot of resolve."
Vick has been fighting through broken ribs that he suffered in a game against the Cardinals in mid-November. He said that the injury started to "bother" him towards the end of the game. Luckily, with the Eagles taking a 45-13 lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Eagles had the luxury of sitting him for the remainder of the game.
With a short week ahead before the Eagles fly to Dallas to face the Cowboys this Saturday, on Christmas Eve, he will need all the rest he can get.
Make sure to follow us on Twitter @EaglesInsider
